The fractional and whole part of a number in the binary system are separated by the?

In the binary system, numbers are represented using only two digits: 0 and 1. Just as in the decimal system where the whole part of a number is separated from the fractional part by a decimal point, the binary system uses a similar mechanism. The binary point serves this function, clearly distinguishing between the whole number portion and the fractional portion of a binary number.

When a binary number is written, the digits to the left of the binary point represent whole values, and those to the right represent fractional values, using powers of two. This allows for the same representation of numbers in both systems, which is crucial for understanding how binary arithmetic works. For instance, in the binary number 101.101, the digits before the binary point (101) are the binary equivalent of the decimal number 5, while the digits after the binary point (101) represent the fractional part.

The term “radix” refers to the base of the number system, which is 2 for binary, but it does not specifically denote the separator between whole and fractional parts. A “place holder” does not apply in this context since it is more relevant to indicating value in positional number systems, while the “decimal point” is specific to the decimal (base